A $23.5-million settlement has been reached with Turner Construction and subcontractor Adjustable Forms Concrete in the death last year of a 27-year-old construction engineer who fell 145 ft from scaffolding at an $815-million cancer pavilion project under construction at the University of Chicago Medical Center. 

The case was settled by the family of David O’Donnell who had been performing survey and layout operations on June 6, 2024 for installation of structural steel core walls when a wind gust, recorded at 48 mph according to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, caused an elevated platform to separate and pull away from a core wall.

Another worker, journeyman ironworker Jeffrey Spyrka, was critically injured when he also fell 10 stories into a space between the core wall and the platform.  He also has sued Turner, the project general contractor, and Lombard, Ill.-based Adjustable Forms Concrete. Spyrka was welding structural steel lugs to steel embeds in the core wall when the accident occurred. The project is located in the city’s Hyde Park neighborhood.  

Lou Cairo, an attorney at GWC Injury Lawyers who represents the O’Donnell family and Spyrka, claimed the wind gust was weaker than what the federal safety agency reported. 

“Preliminary investigations revealed serious deficiencies in the scaffold system, which was designed to withstand winds up to 85 mph but failed under a 44 mph wind gust,” Cairo said in a press release. “Structural weaknesses, improper materials and a lack of adequate connections at a critical corner contributed to the collapse.” 

Cairo said “further review indicated a systemic failure in both scaffold construction and inspection protocols suggesting liability that exceeded ordinary negligence. GWC was preparing to seek punitive damages had the case proceeded to trial.”

Christopher McFadden, a Turner spokesperson, said in a statement, “We extend our deepest sympathies to the O’Donnell family. Their loss is a heartbreaking tragedy. Out of respect for their privacy, we will not comment further.”

OSHA fined Turner $14,518 for the accident, stating that “the front edge of all platforms [a self-rising, climbing concrete formwork system platform] was not 14 inches or less from the face of the work, and no guard rails were erected along the front edge and/or no personal fall arrest systems were used” on the platform. 

The agency fined Adjustable Concrete Forms $13,828, also citing the firm for not having a stair rail consisting of a top rail and mid-rail for each side of each scaffold stairway, which OSHA says exposed project employees to hazards associated with falls. 

O’Donnell was employed by Hi-Tech Stake-Out Inc., Oak Forest, Ill., which OSHA investigated, but did not fine in the case that was closed last Nov. 18. It was also not named in the lawsuit. 

Spyrka’s employer is New Horizon Steel LLC, which also was not named in the suit and was neither fined nor cited for violations related to the accident. 

Adjustable Forms Concrete did not reply to a request for comment. There is a separate lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court involving Spryka and nine other ironworkers involved in the incident.

Cairo, also representing two other injured ironworkers, said most of their complaints claim negligent infliction for emotional distress. “Two of my clients were in very close proximity when David O’Donnell fell,” he said. “One was inches away from falling down into the hole with him.” 

He said some workers also suffered bruises and abrasions when they jumped back into the core of the building as the scaffolding fell. Spyrka has undergone 15 surgeries since the accident, he said.